Color Help?

[SarahKayfa]

Hello everyone. I apologize in advance for the, 'me me' post but I was hoping for some advise about my color and you ladies and gents are the best experts.
I'm tired of coloring my hair because of the damage and the upkeep. I love the copper, but doing my color every month or so is getting really old. I've been coloring most of the last 12 years and I'm ready for something softer & more natural.

I last colored 2 months ago and the length is quite faded. Depending on the light it looks dusty beige, dull copper, or warm bleach blonde. And it does my coloring no favors. I have about an inch of dark ash blond/light ash brown hair growing in.

I'm thinking about dyeing the length with a dark blonde permanent dye(ammonia free) so that I can get it close to natural and let it grow out in peace. I did a strand test and it looks great. But I'm worried.

I've worked hard to get my hair healthy again (and sacrificed so much length doing it.) I'm hoping that you all have advise on ways to minimize the damage. Also I need confirmation that my color looks bad enough to warrant the risk, and I'm not just fixating. Pics are in my albumhttp://http://photobucket.com/sarahkay_3

I've done my own color for many years & never hesitated because it was super short and I'd just trim any damaged ends before they showed. But now it's different because I'm growing my hair long.

[sarahbrownie]

Well, either sacrifice to more damage to get an even color for your comfort or deal with the difference in color as you grow out. It's something you'll have to decide for yourself. For the first option, you hair is already damaged, so why not dye it to match your color? However, personally I'm on the boat for let's keep damage at a minimum. There are many people here that had to deal with grow out with dyed hair, so maybe you should check out this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&highlight=chemical) if it should be your choice.

[whitestiletto]

Your hair is about a similar color as mine, and dyed to the same color... Instead of growing out all natural, I'm growing out the chemicals and switching the henna. It's a darker red, but it's good for your hair and you can still have the red. Just something to consider.

I'm trying to use indigo to darken it to match my roots, going to wash it out now actually (!!) so hopefully that will have worked.

If you do want to dye it all to match the blonde, that's not a bad idea.

You'll find lots of good advice here for growing your hair out healthily.

[Anje]

Honestly, if you re-dye it yourself with something out of a box, chances are pretty high that it's going to have a rather large volume of peroxide which can result in more damage. I don't think the color contrast in your pictures is bad, but I do see that you've got very warm-toned hair and cooler skin, so I can understand the desire to dye it something ashy.

You might want to think about getting a good colorist to give you a corrective dye job to match the length to your roots. Ideally, that should be a one-shot appointment, and they would probably only have to use a low volume developer (maybe even none, since you are going darker, depending on the dye system they use), which might mean less damage.

ETA: You've got an extra http:// breaking your link. This should work better. (http//photobucket.com/sarahkay_3)